Rising Phoenix
by ak47stylegirl
Summary: There was a fire burning and Alan's in the middle of it. His brothers would do anything to save him but will they burn or rise from the ashes? either way, nothing is ever going to be the same again, that for sure.
1. Chapter 1

**Scott pov.**

He smiled in amusement as he watched as Gordon pressed his face against the fish tank.

They were at the local aquarium for Gordon's tenth birthday and the birthday boy couldn't stop staring at all the fishes.

Though he couldn't say the same for Gordon's other half.

"I'm bored…" Alan said, a massive pout on the 8 years old's face. "when do we see the sharks?"

he could understand where Alan was coming from, he didn't really find the fish massively interesting, but Gordon did, and it was his birthday after all.

"soon, just be patient kiddo," he said, off handly watching Virgil pull Gordon away from the glass.

"but I'm booored…" alan pouted, crossing his arms and stomping his feet. "I want to see them now!"

"Alan," he said firmly, stopping any tantrum that alan had planned. "I said to be patient, or you won't see the sharks at all. do you understand me?"

Alan blinked, wide-eyed, bottom lip wobbling slightly. He hated that he was responsible for that, but sometimes he had to be firm with his brothers.

"do you understand me, Alan?" he asked again, his voice still firm.

Alan nodded, "yes, Scotty.."

he sighed, he hates raising his voice at his brothers…

"we'll go see the sharks soon, okay?" he said bending down to Alan's level. "why don't you go see if Gordon want to see the sharks nex-"

"Scott! did you see that!" Virgil said, making him look up. Oh, come on, what was it about family outing that always causes arguments? He thought seeing Virgil glaring at Gordon.

"did I see what?" he asked, crossing his arms, feeling so done. Why did John choose now to go to the bathroom? He could use the backup.

* * *

"Okay, come on, let get some lunch," he said, he was starving.

"wait, Scott, where's Alan?" John asked.

"what? he's right here-" he said, only to find that alan wasn't where he last saw him. "Alan!" he called, looking around but he couldn't see alan.

Shit, shit, shit! He thought, turning around in a circle, fear coursing through his veins.

"Alan! Where are you?!" he called again, starting to feel panicked.

Where was he? He should be here?! He thought.

"Alan!" Virgil called too, looking around too. "Allie! where are you?!"

no answer…

"maybe he's in one of the other areas?" Gordon said, biting his thumb.

"Oh, I hope so…" he said softly, "Virgil, you and Gordon go to security, while John and I look for Alan, okay?"

Virgil's eyes widened. "you don't think that…"

"I don't want to, but it's possible," he said, they were sons of a billionaire after all.

"Okay, I'll ring you when I get there," Virgil said, "come on Gordon,"

"I want to help too!" Gordon said, crossing his arms.

"Gordon, if you want to help, you'll go with Virgil," he said firmly, "I'll feel a lot better knowing that you two are safe, okay?"

Gordon bit his lip, suddenly looking scared. "Allie is okay, right?"

"of course he is, he probably just wondered off, now go on, go with Virgil," he said.

"should we call Dad?" John asked after the Virgil and Gordon left.

"no not yet, let just see if he can find him, if not, then we'll call him" he said, he was really hoping they didn't have to call Dad, because that would mean that they couldn't find Alan and that would mean Alan was missing and- keep it together Scott he thought to himself taking a deep calming breath.

"you go that way, and I'll go this way, we'll meet up at the security office okay?" he said, trying to keep his panic to a minimum.

"Okay, hopefully, one of us finds Alan," John said.

Oh, I hope so John, I hope so…

* * *

**an hour later.**

He was pasting outside the security office, waiting for Dad to pick up his phone.

John was inside with talking with security, plus trying to keep Gordon and Virgil calm, he's sure.

Oh, how could this day go so wrong?

**"this is Jeff Tracy, I'm busy right now, leave a message at the bee-"**

"aurhh! This is not the time for you not to be answering your phone, Dad!" he said in frustration, dialling again.

Please answer, please answer, he repeated over and over in his head.

**"Scott I'm in a meeting-"**

"Dad! Alan! Alan's missing!" he said, his breathing speeding up. Ohgosh, Alan was missing! He thought as it finally set in. He leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling weak in the knees.

**"what? what do you mean your brother missing?" Dad asked.**

"he…he's missing, we can't find him…we-we looked everywh-" he put his hand to his mouth, muffling a sob.

"Scott, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down.." Dad's voice cut through his panic.

He took a deep breath, come on Scott, you no help to your brothers if you lose it, he thought steadying his breathing.

**"That's it, Scott, now tell me what happened from the beginning," Dad said, his voice calming him.**

"we were about to get lunch when John notices that Alan was missing, we…Dad, we looked everywhere, we can't find him," he said, feeling like he was slowly dying inside.

**"Okay, I'm on my way now son, you stay with your brothers, okay?" **

he nodded before realising that dad couldn't see him, "okay, I'll..I'll see you then."


	2. Chapter 2

**John pov.**

He sat in a not so comfy chair, Virgil and Gordon leaning against him, seeking comfort.

He wasn't the one that usually does the hugging stuff but Scott was busy with dad and the police, so that left the job of comforting their little brothers to him, he thought as he watches dad and Scott talk with the police.

"Okay, where was the last place and time you saw alan?" the security guard asked Scott as he looked through the security footage.

"it was around eleven thirty, near the seahorse tank," Scott said.

"is that him?" the security guard asked, the footage showing Alan with Scott, Gordon, Virgil and himself.

"yes, that's him" Dad answered.

They watched as something in one of the other tanks caught Alan's attention, causing the 8-year-old to wondered off.

Oh allie, why do you have to be so curious all the time? He thought frowning. Why didn't they notice? Why didn't he notice?

The footage switched to another camera, following Alan.

Alan stopped suddenly, looking around like he just realised they weren't there.

Oh, allie, he thought watching Alan's face, he looked so scared.

Alan started looking for them, only to wander farther away from them in the process.

And to make matters worse, the area that Alan had wandered in to was unpopulated.

He went stiff when he spotted someone, walking up behind Alan; Alan didn't seem to notice, not until the man was right behind him, and at that point, it was too late.

He watched in agony as the man grabbed Alan, putting a cloth over Alan's mouth and nose, effectively muffling Alan's screams. Alan struggled for a bit before going limp in the man's arms, unconscious.

They watched as the man walked out of the aquarium with his little brother, meeting another man at a car and drove away, nobody stopping him.

"what the fuck" he uttered, not believing his eyes. why did nobody stop him?!

"John! language!"

* * *

**Alan pov.**

He sat in the back of a car, tied up while his kidnappers talked outside the car, waiting for someone. They didn't realise he was awake yet, and he did not want them finding out.

He trying with all his might not to cry or shake in fear, but it was a losing battle. He…he really wants his brothers, he was scared…. What were they going to do with him?

"I don't care whose son he is! We're selling him, that's final!" the big muscular man yelled, making him scream in fear before he could stop himself.

Oh, no, no, no! He thought as they turned to look at him.

He flinches back as one of the men opens the door, it was the less muscular one, he was wearing a gold chain around his neck.

"St-stay back!" he said, tears running down his cheeks against his will.

"Ah, look at that, he's crying," the less muscular man said with a grin, looking at his partner.

"Ha, he'll do a lot more of that where he's going" the big muscular man laughed. "Now get him out, they're here."

He squealed, trying to get away as he was forcibly pulled from the car.

"Let me go!" he cried, wiggling in the man's hold "L-let me go! Let me g-"

"Shut up, or that be the last thing you say!" the big muscular man said, pointing a gun at his head.

He froze, staring at the gun.

"Good, now make sure he stays quiet," the big muscular man said to his partner.

Four cars pulled up around them, a lady got out of the first car, followed by bodyguards.

"I see you got the new specimen?" The lady asked.

"Ah yes, he's a small one, but I assure you he'll grow," the big muscular man said, talking like he was livestock, not a human boy."He'll be perfect for your experiments-"

"Do not speak of my work! You know nothing of it!" the lady snapped, "I'll see for myself if he is worthy of the money you are asking for him."

The lady grabbed his face, her fingers digging into his cheeks. "Hmmm, good facial structure though he's young-"

"Get away from me!" he said, shaking her hand off, which he regretted a second later as she slapped him right across the face, making him cry out.

"Firey one he is," the lady said, retaking hold of his face, "hmmm, firey? Yes, he'll be perfect, put him in the car."

"First our money, then you get the kid," the big muscular man said.

The lady gestured to one of her men, who handed over a briefcase to the big muscular man.

"It's all here," the big muscular man said to his partner, who handed him over to one of the lady's men "It was nice doing business with you, lady."

He was thrown in a cage like a thing in the back of the lady's car, the door slamming shut, leaving him alone.

He curls into a ball, sobbing. He w-w-wanted h-home! How could today go so wrong? If only he didn't wander off, he would be with his brothers right now, but no, he was here, scared beyond measure, his cheek hurting….

he startled as he heard two gunshots outside the car, before one of the car doors opened, the lady getting in.

"Make sure all evidence of us being here is gone by morning," the lady said to her driver. "And ready the plane."


	3. Chapter 3

**Five years later**

**Scott pov.**

he sat at Dad's desk, a glass of dad's whisky in his hand. It was sometime past midnight, but he couldn't sleep so he chose instead to sit out in the lounge.

Today been a hard day, more than their normal. It had been alan's birthday today, he tried to ignore it, pretends that it was a normal day but it was impossible, he knew the day like the back of his hand.

Years ago it would have been a happy day, his baby brother would have the biggest grin as he dug into his gifts, there would be laugher and fun….

He frowned, taking a sit of his drink. He misses those days.

The last five years had been anything but kind to them.

when Alan had been kidnapped, they initially expected the kidnappers to ask for ransom but that didn't happen. It was only days later that the police found the kidnappers' bodies dead in a river, but no sign of alan.

That when it started to set in that they may not get their brother back, they had no idea what they were dealing with. All leads ran dry after that, dad called off the search, presuming Alan dead.

A small part of him hated dad for that, he wants to keep searching, his baby brother had to be out there somewhere dammit!

Then dad went missing, forcing him to make the same decision that dad made when Alan went missing.

That was when things truly started to get bad (not that it was any good before that)

He had to run international rescue, plus the business and make sure his family was safe and cared for.

It was hard.

It didn't help that a year after losing dad, they lost grandma to heart disease, so now all they had left was each other and he'll be dammed if he loses any more loved ones.

* * *

**Alan pov**

Ever since he was….was sold to that lady, he had been in nearly constant pain.

He was in an underground base, a laboratory sort of. It was more a prison than a laboratory though. The scientists would experiment on him and the other kids.

There were so many other kids his age and younger, most of them either brain dead, a lifeless shell or horribly deformed.

he knew he was one of the lucky ones, he wasn't dead yet, even at times he wishes he was. Or deformed… at least not like the others.

He looked just like he did when he was kidnapped, still a little 8-year-old boy, he knows it been at least a year or more since he got here but he hasn't aged at all.

He didn't know why and in the scheme of things, it didn't really matter. He was going to die here anyway…

Though he looks the same, he wasn't. They did something to him, that whenever he gets upset or distressed, his skin will start to steadily get hotter and hotter until it was as hot as burning hot metal. If that wasn't bad enough, he would after that catch on fire, like his whole body would be covered in flames.

He was only lucky he couldn't really feel the heat or the fire or that it didn't hurt him, otherwise he'll surely be dead. But he had no control over it, he couldn't control it.

But because of this, for some reason he can't stand the cold….he knows this because of one of the scientist's experiment, they put him in a very cold room and only after a minute, he started to feel really really bad.

He got really sick after that, pretty much on death's door…he nearly died, he sort of wish he did.

He couldn't even use this against the scientists because they would bring the room temperature down, not enough to kill him but enough that he couldn't do anything against them when they come to grab him.

You would think he would have run out of tears to cry, but every time the scientists would grab him and strap him down to the exam table, he would start crying, he couldn't stop himself. he knew the scientists took pleasure in it, even trying to make him cry more, taunting him over and over while doing their experiments and tests.

It works… if he wasn't crying at the beginning, he was sobbing by the end.

That was how he found out that his grandma and dad were dead, or in his dad's case missing.

He remembers crying for days and days after that. Just wanting to end it all, he didn't want to be alive anymore, what was the point?

when he wasn't being experimented on, he was in a small room, it was more like a cage than anything, there was no bed, no blanket….nothing. They kept the room at a warmer temperature so he won't die but that was it.

He only got to go to the toilet once a day, at the same time every day and if he didn't go then, he would have an accident and he'll have to wait until one of the scientists felt like cleaning him, because they didn't let him clean himself, no they would forcibly strip him naked and wash him with a freezing cold cloth, he leant struggling only brought him pain, so he just had to let them do it.

He hated it, He didn't have an inch of privacy at all, he wasn't a human to those people, he was something that they could experiment on, nothing else.

"Now wasn't that a fun day of tests? I'm sure had fun" one of the scientists said, locking his cage after he was thrown in.

He didn't answer, he was in too much pain. He just laid on the ground, staring at a spot on the wall, shaking and sobbing.

Why can't they just kill him?

He could barely remember what it was like outside the lab or what it feels like to be loved, hugged….but he knew it felt good. He missed his family so much, he hoped they didn't feel guilty for not finding him, they could never have found him.

And even if his family somehow found him, they wouldn't want him now, he was too dangerous, too much of a monster. if he accidentally hurt one of them, he couldn't live with himself if he somehow hurt his family.

—

"Colonel, we're ready to start the raid on the lab," a lieutenant said over the GDF's comm lines.


	4. Chapter 4

Scott pov.

"Colonel Casey, nice to see you," he said, leaning on dad's desk. "What do we owe the pleasure of this call?" He said smiling.

"Scott, it is good to see you too but unfortunately this isn't a social call" Colonel Casey Said.

He frowned, standing up straight now.

"Okay, what can we do to help?" He asked.

"Just gather your brothers, what I'm going to tell you, you all need to hear" Colonel Casey Said.

He frowned again, _this sounds really serious._

* * *

"The GDF hosted a raid against an illegal laboratory last night," Colonel Casey Said, "and what we found last night was beyond horrific"

_Okay? _He thought rising his eyebrow…._that did not sound good._

"Those people were doing all types of illegal experiments on human beings, most of them were kids," Colonel Casey said, a slight growl in her voice.

His eyes widen, _those people were doing experiments on kids?! What the fuck?!_

"Here a photo from last night to give you an idea how bad it was," Colonel said sounding and looking worn out, bring up a photo.

He took a step back, gasping, feeling slightly nauseous_. Add to the fact that he's not normally one to get nauseous at grotesque sights, this was bad._

Gordon gagged, looking away. Virgil was as pale as a white sheet. John has his lips pressed tightly together.

The kids in the photo were missing limbs, eyes, noses, mouths…., they were huddled in small metal cages, Most of them were wearing what were basically dirty rags for clothes.

Most of them looked half dead.

"Most of them were either dead or very close to death, so many were deformed beyond recognition," Colonel Casey Said frowning, "though there were the lucky few that wasn't, but to say they're okay would be a big misconception"

"Why are you telling us this?" John inquired, frowning.

Colonel Casey sighed "because one of the kids fit the description of your missing brother almost perfectly"

His eyes widen as he collapsed down on to the couch, feeling like he just been punched in the gut.

_What? Did he just hear that right? Alan…._he looked up at the photo again and suddenly all he could see was his brother, dead. _Because there was no way he was alive, they weren't that lucky._

"What?!" Gordon said, jumping up from where he was sitting. "What do you mean-"

"Gordon," Virgil said, putting his hand on Gordon's shoulder. "Colonel Casey, are you saying you found our brother?"

"Yes, I believe I have but I won't know for sure until one of you come and recognise him," Colonel Casey said. "I know this is a lot to take in, but I will need one of you to come as soon as you can"

"I'll do it," he said standing up,_ he wasn't going to let his brothers see something like that, if this was alan, he'll bring his body home to bury._

"Okay, I'll see you soon and I'm sure if this is your brother, seeing you would help him a whole lot," Colonel Casey said making him stop in his tracks and turn to face her hologram with wide-eyes.

"Wait are you saying he's alive?!" he asked.

Colonel Casey blinked, surprised "yes the kid that I'm talking about is one of the few that are alive, I'm sorry I should have made that more clear"

"okay….okay, I'll be there soon," he said, shell shocked. "thank you, Colonel Casey"

* * *

Thunderbird one touched down at the GDF base hospital.

He took a deep breath, _he didn't know what to expect….when he woke up this morning he never expected to find out that…that his baby brother, the brother he lost was found alive… or may be found, they didn't know for sure if this kid was alan or not._

_But he so hoped it was._

He met Colonel Casey as he dismounted from one.

"Scott, good to see you," Colonel Casey said greeting him.

"Likewise, Colonel," he said.

"so…how is he?" he asked as they walked down the hospital's corridors.

_He knew for a fact that there was no way he could be okay, the kid was being experimented on, no one would be okay…if this really was alan, he won't be the same as he once was._

"The child is traumatized, he won't let anyone near him and he hasn't spoken a word," Colonel Casey said, "my medics haven't been able to have a proper look at him because of that, but from looks alone, he is very malnourished"

He frowned, _he didn't like the sound of that._

"Hopefully you could do something about that" Colonel Casey said.

"I see what I can do," he said as they stopped at a door.

"He's in here," Colonel Casey said opening the door.

He took a deep breath, before stepping into the room.

He looked around the room before his eyes landed on a blue-eyed and blond-haired 8-year-old boy sitting in the corner of the room.

His eyes widen, _he would recognise that kid anywhere…_

"Allie" he gasped, tears gathering in his eyes.

Alan looked up, his eyes widening. "Sc-Sco-Scotty?"

"Oh allie…" he said, moving across the room, dropping to his knees, taking alan's face in his hands. "oh sweety…" he said before pulling alan into an embrace, openly crying.

_he couldn't believe he had his baby brother in his arms, he never wants to let go._

"S-Sc-Scotty?" Alan said, his voice shaking.

_Oh, how I missed that sound…_

He pulled back slightly, alan still sitting on his lap. "Yeah, it's me sweetheart, it's me," he said smiling, leaning his forehead against Alan's forehead.

Alan's eyes fill with tears and a second later he had little arms wrap around his middle. "I mi-mi-mis-missed y-you" alan sobbed, crying into his chest.

"Oh I missed you too baby, I missed you so much," he said, kissing the top of Alan's head, wrapping his arms around alan. _I'm never letting go again_.


	5. Chapter 5

Scott pov.

He lost track of how long he been holding Alan, but he didn't really care. It felt so good to just hold his baby brother, he never wants to let go.

He looked down at the child in his arms._ He didn't understand why Alan was 8 when he should be 14, but he didn't really care, he was just happy to have his baby brother back._

_But he could tell Alan wasn't okay, especially remembering what colonel Casey had said (who had left to give them some privacy) he could see what she meant by malnourished, Alan was practically skin and bone. _

_Plus alan was still wearing the rag-like clothes he saw the other children wearing. Probably because he wouldn't let anyone near him. Alan needs a bath and new clothes._

_They'll need to buy some new clothes, they didn't keep alan's old clothes, they gave most of them to charity, keeping only a few._

"Sweetheart, why won't you let anybody have a look at you?" he asked gently, sitting his chin on Alan's head. "can you please let a doctor or medic check you over?"

he felt Alan tense, "n-no…d-don't want..n-no" Alan's voice shook, sounding like he was on the verge of tears again.

_Oh, sweetheart…_

"sweety, please…" he sighed, leaning his cheek on Alan's head. "I just want what's best for you… I need to know what's wrong, baby and I won't know unless you let someone have a lot at you…"

Alan whimpered, pulling away a bit. Alan's eyes were filled with tears.

"s-sc-scary….do-don't like-no," Alan said, shaking his head, tears starting to drip down his face.

_oh, allie….and was it just him or was alan having trouble speaking? _

"Allie, you know I won't let anyone hurt you, right?" he said, taking alan's face in his hand, rubbing soothing circles on alan's cheek. "I'll be right there….please kiddo, I need you to do this."

Alan bit his quivering lip. "P-Pr-Promise?" Alan asked, looking anxious.

"I promise," he said, kissing alan's forehead.

* * *

He sat with Alan on his lap as a medic did a full checkup, checking everything. The medic also updating alan's medical history for future reference.

"He very badly malnourished," the medic said, "he'll need to be on a very strict diet to get him back to full health. we can't just rush into getting him eating normally again, or his body will react violently."

"Okay," he nodded. "You'll be able to email me all I need to know, right?"

"Yes, I'll be able to do that," the medic said, before bending down to look alan in the eyes. "Now, I need to know if there anything that you know of that those people did to you, so we can best treat you, okay?"

He felt alan tense. Oh allie, what did they do to you?

"Sweety," he said gently, "please tell us."

"I…i don't like c-cold…make me s-sick," Alan said, leaning back into him. "I…i…when I'm r-really upset my temperature keeps rising and.. T-then…then I c-c-catch on fire! I…i c-can't control it!" alan cried, turning around and burying his head into his chest, sobbing.

His eyes widen, _catch on fire?!_ He thought as his arms wrapping around alan._ is that even possible?! _

The medic lay their hand on the back of Alan's neck, taking it out almost instantly. "His skin is really hot, it shouldn't be that hot ever."

He frowned, slipping his glove off and feeling how hot alan's skin was for himself. Shit! That is hot!

"I think you should trying him down," the medic said, "if what he said was true, we don't want him catching on fire."

He nodded. _ Yeah, that would be bad. When alan a bit calmer, he'll need to ask him that when he….lights on fire(oh that sounds so wrong) does it hurt him? _

_It obviously doesn't hurt him as much as someone else catching on fire, Alan was still alive and doesn't have any bad burns that he could see, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt him. _

_Oh, baby, why does this have to happen to you? You don't deserve this. _

"Sweety, shhh, it's okay," he said, rubbing alan's back. "We'll figure this out, it going to be okay,shhhh, shhh."

_He'll need to talk to brains about this, see if he can make something that helps alan control this. _

"Why…why don't you hate me?" Alan asked, looking up at him.

"Hate you? Allie, why would I hate you?" he said, astounded that alan would even think that he would hate him. "I love you."

Alan's eyes widen. "You do?" Alan asked like he didn't know that, and that was plain horrifying to him "Even though I'm a monster?"

"Allie, of course, I love you," he said firmly. "And you're not a monster, I never want you saying stuff like that again," he said, looking alan in the eyes, making sure Alan knew he was deadly serious. "You are very much loved, you'll never be a monster to us, to me…okay?"

Alan sniffled, nodding.

"you think you up to continuing?" he asked softly.

* * *

He held his sleeping brother in his arms as he waits for the guys to answer. _All the crying had tired alan out. He got a feeling this was the first semi-peaceful sleep he got in five years._

_The medic and he had come to the conclusion that alan couldn't self regulate his body temperature, which was bad, but they could work around it. They need to monitor alan's temperature, he should talk with brains, see if he can make a skin-tight insulated suit that alan can wear under his clothes. _

_But still, he'll need to make sure he buys alan some warm clothes, especially warm pyjamas, it gets very cold at night on the island._

_Plus, he has to make sure alan follows the diet the medic put him on, and keep an eye on how he's handling it. He was told that some foods may not agree with Alan, because he hadn't had them in so long and his body may not know how to handle it. He was told that alan could have an allergic reaction to some foods that he didn't before and to watch out for that._

_He hopes that doesn't happen, but he'll be on his guard still._

_His baby brother wasn't well, that much was obvious,_ he thought kissing alan's head as John answered.

"Scott, did you find out if-" John froze spotting alan.

he smiled despite everything.

"Johnny, do me a favour and tell Gordie he's not the youngest any more," he said, smiling down at Alan.


	6. Chapter 6

**Scott pov.**

"Is that…is that really allie?" John asked, eyes wide.

He smiled, "yeah, it is," he said, looking at the child wrapped in a blanket, sitting in his arms. Alan was wearing a top and pants that the GDF had given him, they also gave him a pair of shoes, but Alan wasn't wearing them right now.

A part of him still can't believe he got his baby brother in his arms.

He looked up as he heard John choked on a sob. John had his hand over his mouth, tears at the corners of his eyes.

"It…really…oh God," John said, "is he okay?"

He sighed, "not really, he's malnourished, he been put on a special diet to help him get better but it not going to be easy, I been told that he could be allergic to some stuff he wasn't before, so we'll need to watch out for that."

John nodded, he knew that John probably already had a website up about malnourished, trying to find out all he can.

"He also can't self regulate his body temperature, that something he has to live with for the rest of his life, it's horrible," he said, looking down at Alan, who whimpered in his sleep.

"Shhh, it's okay" he whispered softly, rubbing Alan's back.

"what? Why can't he self regulate his body temperature?" John asked, concerned.

"It's head to explain, I don't fully understand it, but the gist is that when he's distressed, his temperature rises until he….it's sounds crazy but he said he catches on fire, I haven't seen it for myself, but I'm going to take Alan's word for it"

"He catches on fire?!" John asked him, shocked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know John, this whole situation got impossible written all over it," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Like the fact that Alan is still an eight-year-old, where's he should be fourteen?" John asked.

"Yeah" he nodded, "I don't know why he's still eight, but I don't really care, I just care that we got our brother back."

John nodded.

"He's really traumatised, we need to make sure we're really gentle with him," he said. "he's really fragile right now."

"I don't blame him, he should have never gone through what he did," John said, "none of those kids should have"

Oh, they were so lucky, he thought thinking about all those other kids. Alan could have been dead or close to death, and there would be nothing they could do….they were so damm lucky, they got a second chance and he damm well not going to waste it!

"are we putting IR on hold?" John asked.

"Yeah, I don't see a way we can do international rescue and help alan right now, helping alan recover must be our number one priority," he said, stroking alan's hair.

"Do you want me to bring the others in the call, they would like to know…" John said.

"Okay, just make sure to tell them to keep their voices down, I don't want them waking Alan up," he said.

John nodded.

* * *

**Virgil's pov.**

He was working on Thunderbird two, he was trying to occupy himself as they wait for Scott to call them.

The wait was killing him, he needs to know if that kid was alan or not. He would have gone with Scott, but Scott insisted that he need to stay here in case of a rescue. He didn't like it, but he knew Scott was right.

John's hologram appeared on his wrist comm.

"John, Do we have a rescue?" He asked, wiping the grease off his hands with a rag.

John shook his head, "no, not a rescue, Scott just called me a moment ago."

His eyes widened.

"Scott? What did he say? Did he say if it was Alan or…" he stopped seeing John smiling, a kind of smile that just screamed everything he needs to know.

"It's really him?" He asked, his voice shaking, his eyes going wide. "It's really Allie?"

"Yeah, it's him…" John said, tears in his eyes. "I saw him with my own two eyes, it's him….though…. he hasn't aged, he's still eight."

"What? How is that possible?" he asked, confused.

"I don't know" John sighed. "It just is…"

"I'm going to connect you with Scott now as I tell Gordon okay, just keep your voice down, Alan is sleeping," John said before his hologram was replaced with Scott's.

"Hey Virgil," Scott Said, smiling, a small child sleeping in his arms.

Getting told that it was alan was one thing up to see for himself that it was Alan? Whole different ball game, he thought as tears gathered in his eyes.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Scott Said, seeing his wide eyes.

"Yeah," he said breathlessly, his eyes not leaving alan.

Alan made a tinny sound of distress in his sleep, getting both his and Scott's attention.

"Shhh, it's okay sweetheart" Scott whispered, stroking alan's hair. "It's okay, shhh."

He frowned, suddenly realising that yes they found Alan but didn't mean alan was okay. His brother was basically tortured for five years straight, they were just so lucky alan was even still alive at all.

"Is he okay?" he asked, concerned.

Scott sighed, "he is anything but okay."

He frowned, "care to explain?" He asked, his inner medic want to know all the facts.

Scott sighed, "it probably be better if I explain it all at once,"

"Okay," he said nodding, he waited this long, he can wait a little bit more.


	7. Chapter 7

Virgil pov

"You wasn't kidding…" Gordon Said in disbelief, looking at Alan.

"You think I would joke about something like this?" John asked, sounding slightly offended.

"No, just….it's hard to believe that's all" Gordon Said.

_That was true, it was hard to believe, but they could see with their own two eyes that it was true._

"I know what you mean," he said in agreement. "Scott, now that we'll all here, can you tell us what going on?"

Scott sighed "yeah, I guess I should"

"Tell us what?" Gordon asked.

"Alan may be one of the luckier kids but doesn't mean he's alright" John explained sadly.

Gordon gulped, "he's okay, right?"

"Wish I could say he was Gordo, but he not," Scott Said gently, shaking his head. "He's badly malnourished, plus a whole bunch of other things."

_Malnourished? Not surprising but….it wasn't good, not at all._

"Did a medic have a look at him?" He asked.

"Yeah, a medic had a look at him a little while after I got here…" Scott Said, looking down at Alan

"Colonel Casey told me that he would not let anyone near him, the only reason he let that medic look at him was probably because I was there," Scott said softly.

He frowned, _oh alan._

"Did they put him on any medication or diet?" He asked.

"Yeah, they want us to gradually introduce more nutrient filled foods into alan's diet until he is eating a high nutrient diet and gain some weight back," Scott Said stroking Alan's hair. "He's so skinny, I can see his ribs."

_that didn't sound good…_

"But wait, why can't he just eat those foods now?" Gordon asked.

"Because if we suddenly introduced all these foods at once like that, his body may think them a threat, even though they're not" he explained.

"Like an allergic reaction?" Gordon asked, looking fearful.

"Exactly Like an allergic reaction" Scott Said, "which he could still have by the way."

"So we need to keep an eye out for that, don't we?" John asked.

"yes" Scott nodded.

" we should keep an epi-pen somewhere in the kitchen where we can get it at a moments notice," he subjected.

Scott nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Alan shifted in Scott's lap, whimpering loudly.

"Shhh, baby it's okay" Scott whispered, tucking the blanket more securely around Alan. "It's okay, shhh, shhh."

He bit the inside of his cheek,_ it hurts to see his little brother so distressed._

"He's not sleeping well, is he?" John asked.

"No, he isn't," Scott Sighed.

"Had he had anything to eat?" Gordon asked, "like since they found him?"

"Yeah, he had something little, didn't really eat a lot of it though" Scott Said, looking down at Alan with a worried frown.

"He's probably not used to it Scott, give him time," he said, trying to comfort Scott.

"I know, I just…..I just worry" Scott Said softly.

_We all do bro, we all do…._

"Why do I get the feeling that's not all that's going on with Alan?" Gordon asked.

"Because it's not" John Said, "there's some else that we haven't told you yet, but it's pretty crazy."

He raised an eyebrow, _Okay?_

"You took the words right out of my mouth John" Scott Said, "what I'm going to tell you guys next is, as John Said crazy, but I need you to trust me on it."

"Um, Scott? Alan is still eight when he should be fourteen, I think we've passed crazy" Gordon Said, gesturing to Alan with his hand.

"Yeah, He's sort of right," he said nodding in agreement. "What else is wrong with Alan?"

Scott sighed, "well I been told, by Alan, plus I saw a bit of it myself….that when Alan gets upset his skin gets very hot…like I mean hot, guys."

He frowned, _Okay that wasn't good. That will make it so much harder to tell if Alan was sick or not. He guesses they'll just need to figure that out when they come to it._

"Like a fever?" Gordon asked.

"No, hotter then a fever, it felt like touching a hot stove" Scott Said.

His eyes widened.

"The body not supposed to get that hot!" he said, seriously worried.

"I know, and that's not even the craziest part" Scott sighed.

_There's more?!_

"His skin can get so hot that he….he catches on fire, now I haven't seen this, but I'm willing to believe it's true" Scott Said.

His eyes widen even more.

"On fire?….as in hot, burning fire?" Gordon asked in disbelief. "That's not possible."

"And someone not ageing in five years is?" John challenged.

"I….Okay fine, it could be possible, but how is he still alive? This is fire we are talking about here" Gordon Said.

"It must not hurt him like it would someone else," he said _willing to believe Scott, even if all his medical knowledge is saying it's not possible._ "But that not saying that it doesn't hurt him, Scott do you know if…."

"No, I don't," Scott said, shaking his head, "I was going to ask, but don't know how he'll react to it."

"Why?" John asked.

"He got very upset when he told me and the medic about it" Scott explained.

"I don't want to make him upset either, but we need to know…" he said,_ the last thing he wants to do was make alan upset, but they need to know if….when this fire thing happens, does it hurt alan? and if so, is there something they can do to help?_

"I know…" Scott mumbled, leaning his cheek on Alan's head. "Another thing he told me is that he can't handle the cold, that's it make him really sick."

He frowned,_ he wasn't sure he like where Scott was going with this._

"The medic looked into it, and it turned out that he can't regulate his body's temperature," Scott said, pulling alan closer. "If he gets too cold, he could…."

"Die" he finished for Scott, his eyes wide._ He was a medic, he knew a lot about the body and the fact that alan couldn't regulate his temperature, it was bad, with a capital B! Bad!_

"What!?" Gordon said, going pale. "It's that bad?!"

"Yes, Gordon, it's that bad," John said, "Scott, do you know what we need to do to help him?"

"Other than keep him warm, no I have no clue," Scott said, "Virgil?"

He sighed, "I don't know, I don't have much knowledge on how to treat someone that can't regulate their temperature."

_He'll need to look it up find out all he can._

"but I do know that you need to keep him warm, do not let him get cold Scott," he said firmly.

"I won't," Scott said, moving alan slightly, so he was sitting more securely on his lap, fixing up the blanket, so it was covering alan better.

"I'm thinking of putting international rescue on hiatus until alan is settled in," Scott said, "I already talked with John about it, but what do you guys think?"

"I won't say no to a brack," Gordon said.

"It's fine with me, we need a brack, plus alan needs us here, we can't be running around the world every second of the day," he said, crossing his arms.

"That what I was thinking, so we're all in agreement?" Scott asked.

He nodded, John and Gordon doing the same.

"Okay, good" Scott nodded, "Oh yeah, John, can you order some clothes for Alan for me?" Scott asked.

_Clothes? Oh yeah, Alan doesn't have any, does he?_

"Sure, what does he need?" John asked.

"Everything, he has nothing except the clothes the GDF got him" Scott Said, frowning.

"So just get him everything?" John asked.

"Basically Yes" Scott nodded.

"Okay," John nodded.

"What about toiletries? Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner?" he asked.

"Yeah, we need to get that too" Scott Said, "is there anything else we need to get?"

_He couldn't think of anything, _he thought shaking his head,

"Um, what about a stuffed toy? Didn't he have one before?" Gordon asked.

_Yeah, of course. Alan still an eight-year-old, so of course he would need toys, plus having something to cuddle was always therapeutic._

"Yeah, he had a couple actually, I think we kept some of them" Scott Said.

_That makes sense, some of those toys were old family toys that had gotten handed down all the way from Scott to alan, so of course, they would keep them._

"would you be able to pick the stuff up on the way home?" John asked Scott.

"I don't know, I don't really want to expose Alan to the public" Scott Said, frowning "I could leave him in one, it's the safest place he can be, but I don't want to do that, I don't think Alan would deal with it well either."

Scott frowned, conflicted.

"Scott don't worry about it, I'll go get them, I need to get some stuff anyway," he said, "you just focus on getting Alan home safe,"

"Um speaking of that, Where is Alan going to sleep tonight? His old room is a storage room now, it doesn't even have a bed in it" Gordon asked.

_Oh yeah, Alan doesn't have a room._

"He can sleep with me until we get his room ready," Scott said, "I got a big enough bed, plus it not like I'm not used to sharing my bed."

He felt his cheeks colour slightly, _yeah when he was younger he would occasionally spend the night in Scott's bed instead of his own. They all done it at least once._

"Yeah, that would work" Gordon shrugged.

"We got a long road ahead of us, don't we?" he said_, thinking of all the things they need to do. ,_

"That's for sure" Scott sighed, "I'm going to head home soon, so I should see you guys soon."


	8. Chapter 8

**Alan pov.**

"Allie, sweetheart, wake up" a sweet voice cut through his sleep, waking him up. He was sitting in someone's lap, a hand stroking his hair.

He didn't know what to make of it, he wasn't use to being comforted or given affection.

Plus what was this soft thing wrapped around him? He hasn't felt something so soft in so long.

"Sweetie, come on, wakey, wakey" the voice whispered again.

He looked up, blinking his eyes open, seeing Scott smiling down at him.

"Hey sweetheart" Scott Said, stroking his cheek.

He still couldn't believe he was free, let alone in his big brother's arms. He didn't understand why Scott was here, he was a monster, dangerous… sure Scott Said he wasn't, but Scott hasn't seen him when he loses control, he was sure he'll change his mind once he did.

"You had a good nap, Allie?" Scott asked.

He shrugged, he didn't really know if he did or not. He wasn't sure what a good nap was like….he hasn't slept properly in years.

He looked at the….the blanket? That was wrapped around him, it was really soft.

"Soft" he muttered, touching the blanket.

Scott smiled," yeah, it is soft, kiddo" Scott kissed his temple. "You're warm enough, you're not cold, right?"

He shrugged, snuggling into Scott's chest.

He felt Scott sigh, arms hugging him. "I love you, sweetheart."

It felt weird to be told that, it made his chest feel…. warm? Fluttery? He didn't understand why Scott would love a monster like him, but he didn't want Scott to stop, even if he didn't deserve Scott's love, he needed it so bad.

"We're going home soon, okay?" Scott Said Softly.

"Home?" He asked, confused, looking up at Scott. He hasn't heard that word in so long or at least not in the way that Scott was saying it.

"Yeah, home sweetheart" Scott Said, kissing his forehead. "We're going home, the others can't wait to see you."

Tears gather in his eyes as he thinks about his other brothers, he missed them so much!

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Scott asked, taking hold of his face.

"I…i miss….miss them" he mumbled, sniffling, trying not to cry.

Scott sighed, "I know, they missed you too" Scott pulled him close. "Speaking of missing…. I need to tell you something, sweetie."

He glanced up at Scott, he looked so serious and sad.

"A lot of things happened while you were…gone, one of the things being that….Grandma and Dad, they…" Scott paused, thinking over his words carefully.

His eyes widen as he realised what Scott was trying to tell him.

"I know," he said, nuzzling his head into Scott's chest, a couple of tears spilling down his cheeks.

"You do?" Scott asked, surprised. "Sweetheart, you're sure we talking about the same thing?"

He nodded, "they….they t-told me….to-to hurt me…i…i" he sobbed, his body shaking slightly as sobs erupted from him.

"Oh Allie, shhhh," Scott said, hugging him tightly, rocking him back and forth. "Shhh, I never wanted you finding out that way, I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

He looked up at Scott, tears running down his cheeks. Scott frowned, wiping away some of his tears, kissing his forehead in the process.

"No one ever going to hurt you ever again, sweetheart," Scott said, eyes serious "I won't let them, I promise."

He leaned his head on Scott's chest, just sitting in Scott's arms as Scott whispered soft words of comfort to him.

* * *

**Scott pov.**

He looked down at the small child in his arms, Alan wasn't crying anymore, which was good, he hates seeing alan so upset, but he has a feeling that's going to be their normal for a while…

He looked at the clock, 3:30pm….wow he been here a whole two hours. They really should start heading home, he wanted to a least get back to the island before nightfall.

"Sweetheart, we going to head home now, okay?" he said gently.

Alan looked up at him, "O-Okay.."

"Come on, let's get your shoes on," he said, standing up with Alan in his arms, turning around and sitting alan in the chair he was just sitting on.

"S-Scotty!" Alan said, reaching for him as he put him down.

"Shhh, I'm just getting your shoes," he said, brushing Alan's hair back, before bending down to grab them from where they were sitting at the base of the chair.

"You want me to put them on or do you want to do that?" He asked Alan.

He asked that because Alan had struggled with getting on the clothes the GDF had given then, in the end, he had to help Alan get them on.

It didn't help that the clothes don't fit right, he had to roll up the pants to alan's knees, and even then they were still way too big. Plus the shirt was slipping off Alan's shoulder.

But they were so much better then the rags Alan was wearing before.

"I don't….know" Alan shrugged, looking at his lap.

He sighed, he'll take that as a yes.

He bent down, slipping both shoes on to Alan's feet and tieing them up, making sure there weren't any loose shoelaces that Alan could trip on.

"Okay, all done," he said, smiling at his baby brother. "Ready to go home, sweetheart?" he said, holding out his hand.

Alan nodded meekly, taking his hand.

* * *

Alan was clinging to his hand, staying very close to his side as they walked through the building.

"We'll almost there, sweetheart," he said, looking down at alan.

Alan didn't really like how there were so many people in the hallways, he could tell by how Alan was almost hugging his leg.

He was so relieved that Virgil was picking up alan's clothes/other stuff instead of him because it was so obvious to him now more than ever that Alan would not have handled that well at all.

He had turned on one's heater remote control, so when they get there, it will be nice and warm for alan.

He smiled, as they stepped outside, spotting thunderbird one shining in the afternoon sun, looking all majestic.

He felt a tug on his hand as Alan stopped moving.

He looked down at Alan concerned, only to find that Alan wasn't looking at him but at thunderbird one.

He was suddenly reminded that international rescue wasn't up and running when Alan went missing, thunderbird one wasn't even half built at that point in time.

"She pretty cool, isn't she?" He Said, smiling, crouching down next to Alan.

He loved seeing kids reactions to seeing his bird for the first time, but seeing his baby brother's reaction? Even better.

Alan nodded, looking at him now.

"You remember how there were ships being built in the hanger?" He asked, smiling softly.

Alan nodded.

"Well, this is one of them, thunderbird bird one, my bird," He couldn't help the grin that was on his face, he loved talking about his bird.

"Thunderbird?" Alan asked, "inter…interna- the rescue thing?"

He was once again reminded that Alan was eight and for eight years old there was still some words that were hard to pronounce.

"Yeah inter-nat-ion-al rescue kiddo," he said, sounding out the word for Alan.

"Inter-nat-ion-al?" Alan Said, copying him.

"Yep, that's it's Kiddo," he said, ruffling Alan's hair smiling. "We launched International Rescue about two or three years ago, it's not easy, we get really busy, but it's worth it with how many people we save."

The wind picked up a bit.

"Okay," Alan said soft, inching closer to him.

"That's also why I'm in this uniform if you were wondering kiddo," he said, gesturing to his uniform "I'm the first responder, that's means I'm the first on the scene."

Alan's little hand touched his sash, little fingers running along the IR on it. He felt his heart swell, oh Allie, you are too cute and adorable, he thought with a loving smile.

"And that means I need to figure out what going on, so the others know what they are flying into" he explained, "though, John helps a lot in that regard too, being our eyes in the sky."

"O-Okay" Alan Said, shaking a bit.

He frowned seeing Alan shake, shit! Is he cold? Shit! He shouldn't have alan out here for this long! It was way too windy, why didn't he realise!

"You're cold, sweetheart?" He asked, wrapping an arm around Alan, pulling him close, trying to give Alan some of his warmth.

Alan nodded, still shaking. His frown deepened, he needs to get Alan to thunderbird one now!

"Okay, come on, let get you somewhere warm," he said standing up, picking Alan up at the same time, because he was about to walk across an airstrip/GDF car park, it was safer if he held Alan.

plus he could get Alan to one faster this way, and the quicker he got Alan to one, the faster he could warm him up.

Plus the kid wasn't big, heck if you didn't know what Alan looked like when he was eight, you would think he was six.

He hurried over to one, lowing his chair and sitting down in it, sitting Alan on his lap. He held Alan tight so he wouldn't fall as his chair moved back into Thunderbird one. It was nice and toasty warm inside.

"Now that's better, isn't it kiddo?" he asked, giving Alan a cuddle. "You're feeling warmer?"

"A-a bit," Alan said, snuggling into his chest.

He pulled his glove off and felt Alan's temperature, making sure for himself.

He sighed a sigh of relief, Alan's skin was a bit cold, but he could feel it warming up. He can't believe he didn't realise how windy (and cold) it was out there, he need to do better, he has to do better.

He sighed, hugging alan tightly, savouring the moment.

He pulled away after a moment, he needs to get them home and to do that, he needs to move Alan to his own seat.

This not going to go well…

"Now, sweetie, I can't have you sitting in my lap while I'm flying okay?" he said gently, rubbing alan's back. He felt Alan tense up, "I need you to sit in your own chair."

Alan shook his head, clinging to him.

He sighed, he knew this was going to be hard.

"Sweetheart…" he said softly, "I know you don't want to but this is just how it has to be," he said, standing up, Alan in his arms.

He walked over the chair that was just behind, slightly to the left of his chair. He lowered Alan into it, but he couldn't move because Alan was clinging to his neck.

"Allie…." he sighed. "Please, let go, sweetheart."

Alan whimpered but let go as asked. Alan was sniffling on the verge of tears.

Oh, sweetheart, please don't cry, he thought.

"Sweetie, if I could fly safely with you in my lap, I would," he said, adjusting the seat harness to Alan's hight and size, making sure Alan was securely strapped in. "but I can't, okay?" he said, kneeling down in front of his baby brother.

"I want you to be safe and here is the safest place you can be, okay?" he said, cupping Alan's cheek.

A tear rolled down Alan's cheek.

"Oh sweetheart," he said, wiping that tear way. "We'll be home before you know it and then I'll give you a big cuddle, okay?"

Alan sniffed, nodding half-heartedly. Oh Allie, please don't make me feel like the bad guy.

He sighed standing up, "okay, you tell me if you need anything, okay?" he said, kissing Alan's forehead.

"O-okay" Alan mumbled softly.

He sighed again before walking over to his chair and starting his pre-flight checks.


	9. Chapter 9

**John's pov.**

He sat behind Dad's desk, the sun setting outside. He had put out the call, putting international rescue on hiatus. Kayo was on her way back from her mission, Lady P and Parker had given them their best wishes with getting Alan settled, reassuring them that they'll take care of everything.

He had talked with Brains about what was going on and to see if there was anything Brains could do to help. Brains weren't sure if there was much he could do to help, a least not without knowing the extent of Alan's….abilities?

But Brains wasn't doing nothing, he was right now working on a wrist band like monitor for Alan. That will…well monitor Alan's temperature and notify one of them if it drops below a certain temperature or rises above a certain temperature. It was the best they could do for now.

He was staying down on the island until….well they didn't really know how long this hiatus was going to before, but he was staying planetside however long Alan needs him too.

Virgil and Gordon had gone out in Thunderbird two to pick up the stuff he ordered for Alan. He made sure he got everything that alan would need, not leaving anything out.

Gordon had insisted on going with Virgil, even if that would mean not seeing Alan until later then if he stayed on the island. He didn't know what was going on with Gordon, but he trusts Virgil to figure it out.

Thunderbird one approached the island, coming in for landing.

"This is Thunderbird one, coming in for landing," Scott said over the comms.

"Copy that thunderbird one," he said over the comms, "welcome home,"

He watched as thunderbird one landed, disappearing into the pool. He took a deep breath, standing up. He was so close to seeing his baby brother in person, every second he waited was too long.

* * *

**Scott pov.**

Thunderbird one jolted slightly as she came to a stop at her silo. Usually, this was the point his chair would lower, and he'll get out on to the platform (that Virgil swears is a health hazard, 'Put a railing on it Scott!') that would take him up to the house, but today he wasn't going to do that.

It was a good thing brains thought of everything when it came to designing the thunderbirds.

You would think it be nearly impossible to move safely about thunderbird one when parked vertically, but it wasn't really.

The chairs would move, so they were facing the right way up and platforms (that when in horizontal flight were doors) would deploy all throughout Thunderbird one, breaking Thunderbird one into between sections, that were easy to move in between.

"Hey Allie, we're home," he said softly, getting out of his chair and climbing down to where Alan was. A platform had deploy under Alan's chair, making a sort of floor.

"Loud…" Alan pouted, rubbing his ears.

he grimaces, yeah, thunderbird one's landing could be pretty loud. he was used to it but alan wasn't, so it must have been really loud for his baby brother.

"I'm sorry it was so loud, sweetheart," he said, lifting Alan's chair restraints. "come here, didn't I promise you a cuddle?" he said, picking his baby brother up in his arms, giving him a big cuddle.

Alan hugged his neck tightly, "ears hurt…"

he winced, feeling guilty, even though there was nothing he could have done to make the landing any quieter.

"oh sweetheart…i'm really am sorry," he said, kissing Alan's temple. "come on, let's go upstairs," he said softly. "I'm sure they're some people up there that really want to see you, kiddo."

* * *

**Virgil pov.**

"Huh?" Gordon said, looking at a shirt that had something written on it. "We really shouldn't have let John do the shopping, everything is probably going to be space theme or something nerdy," Gordon said, throwing the shirt back into the box.

He rolled his eyes. "Like we'll let you do it" he joked, packing away some of the new medical supplies that they had also gotten into Thunderbird two's cargo hold.

"Hey! my fashion sense is just fine, thank you very much," Gordon said, pointing at him.

he shook his head, chuckling. "I could go blind looking at some of your shirts."

"well sorry, I can't help that your eyes are too weak for my clothing, now can I?" Gordon said grinning.

My eyes too weak, huh? More like his clothes too bright, he thought, rolling his eyes as he went back out to get the rest of the stuff.

He didn't know why Gordon wanted to come with him, he could have handled this fine by himself. But don't get him wrong, he didn't mind the help, the more help, the better. It was just that there was something obviously bothering Gordon and it was bothering him not what was bothering Gordon.

"Okay, I think we got everything," he said, packing way the last things.

"Okay…cool," Gordon said, "can I fl-"

"don't even think about it," he said, walking into Thunderbird two's cockpit, Gordon following him.

"okay fine," Gordon said, sitting down in the co-piots chair.

okay, if alarm bells weren't going off before, they were now. gordon normally puts up more of a fight than that, so something was really bothering him and he wants to know what, dammit!

"okay! What's bothering you?" he asked after getting Thunderbird two in the air and on route for home.

"What? Why do you think anything bothering me?" Gordon asked, not making eye contact with him.

Gordon at times you are a really good lier but at others….oh boy…

"Because you want to come with me when if you had stayed on the island, you would have seen Alan sooner," he said, "so…what's going on?'

Gordon sighed, crossing his arms "fine….it just that….Alan is so much younger then me now and….and what if I mess up again?"

He raised an eyebrow, okay….why does Gordon think he'll mess up? Plus why did he say again?

"Mess up? What you're talking about?" he asked, a mix of concerned and confused.

Gordon groaned, "You don't understand, Alan was…is my only younger brother and what if I make a mess of things?"

"I don't understand?" he questioned, "Gordon, I know what it likes to have a little brother, you're one of them. I sure as hell know that pressure of not wanting to mess up."

"Yeah, but that's the thing! I haven't been a…a big brother in so long, how do I know if I'll be any good at it now?" Gordon asked, slumping in his chair.

"Gordon, being a big brother isn't something you forget," he explained.

"That's easy for you to say" Gordon mumbles.

He sighed, okay yeah, maybe he didn't fully understand what Gordon was going through, he never stopped being a big brother, he still had Gordon to look after when Alan went missing, Gordon had no one.

"Gordon, you haven't forgotten how to be a big brother, you're scared that you have, but you haven't," he said firmly, "yeah, having Alan around now will need some getting used to but Gordon, you're a good brother, you're not going to mess up."

"You…you sure?" Gordon asked, looking so unsure in himself.

"I'm sure, Gordon" he assured Gordon.

"Okay….this never happened," Gordon said, pointing at him.

He rolled his eyes, "what happened? I don't have a clue what you're talking about Gordon" he smirked.

"Good," Gordon said, smiling. "So…how long until home?"

He shook his head, chuckling to himself. "You better not keep asking me that all the way home."

"What? Me? Do that?" Gordon joked, hand over his heart. "Why would you say such a thing!"

Yeah right, like I'll believe that…

"But seriously, how long until home?" Gordon asked.


	10. Chapter 10

**Scott pov.**

He walked into the comm room, Alan in his arms. He was still in his uniform, which he'll need to change out of when he gets the chance but he needs to find someone to keep an eye on Alan before he could do that.

Alan's head was laying on his shoulder, the kid was pretty sleepy. He doesn't blame him, the last couple of days must have been really full on for the kid. or in truth the last couple of years…

"Scott!" John said, running up to him. John's eyes locked on to the child in his arms "A-Allie.."

He smiled "Hey John," he said softly, Alan hasn't noticed John yet, his head buried into his neck, half asleep.

"Is he wake?" John asked softly, eyes not leaving Alan.

"Sort of," he said softly, looking down at Alan. "Hey Allie, look who's here," he said as he stroked Alan's hair gently, waking Alan up a bit.

"Huh?" Alan said, lifting his head, rubbing his eyes. "Wha-" Alan's eyes widen, seeing John.

"Hey Allie," John said, smiling softly.

"J-Johnny?" Alan asked, his voice shaking, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me..," John said, a smile filled with so much joy on his face.

"Johnny!" Alan yelled, reaching for John.

He smiled as he handed Alan over to John, who looked a little awkward with holding alan but that didn't stop him from hugging Alan like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh Allie, I missed you," John said, voice choked with emotions "I missed you so much."

"Missed You…too" Alan mumbled, head buried into John's neck.

He smiled, watching his brothers reunite was….it was really good, sort of made him emotional, he thought as he wiped a stray tear that had gathered in his eye.

John looked at him, eyes asking 'this is happening, isn't it? I'm not dreaming, am I?'

He smiled, nodding 'it's happening.'

"Did Virgil leave yet to get the stuff?" he asked John quietly.

"Yeah, he and Gordon left an hour ago," John said softly.

"Gordon?" He raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought he'll want to stay here?"

"Yeah, I thought so too," John said, "they should be back soon, good thing too, those clothes barely fit" John frowned at the clothing Alan was wearing.

He sighed, "I know….speaking of clothing, I need to get changed," he said, looking down at his uniform.

"Allie," he said softly, rubbing Alan's back. "I'm just going to go get changed, okay?"

Alan's head snapped up, eyes wide. Alan shook his head, bottom lip quivering "don't go…"

"Oh sweetheart, I won't be gone long," he said softly, "Anyway, John will be with you, won't you John?"

John nodded, "it's okay Allie, I'll be with you the entire time Scott is gone, okay?"

Alan's eyes filled with tears, "no…want both here….stay"

Alan's skin must be getting hot because John's eyes widen slightly, plus he could sort of feel it himself.

"Sweetheart, calm down," he said firmly, "we don't want you getting worked up over this, I won't be gone long."

Alan sniffed, a couple of tears spilling.

He and John grimace, yeah this wasn't going to plan.

"Allie, Scott needs to get changed," John said, looking down at Alan "Scott knows how to change fast, he'll be back before you know it,"

"That I do," he said softly, nodding "come on sweetie, please?"

There was a moment where Alan didn't say anything, just looked in between them.

"….o-okay" Alan mumbled, burying his head into John's neck.

He sighed a sigh of relief, he honestly thought they were going to have a major break down on their hands there for a second.

"That's a good boy," he said, kissing Alan's head "I'll be back soon Allie."

He paused just before leaving the room, leaving was a lot harder then he thought, he didn't want to go, but he couldn't stay in his uniform…

"Don't worry Scott, I got this" John said, smiling at him.

He sighed "I know," It was hard to leave, but there wasn't anyone he'll trust more with Alan then his brothers, Allie will be okay.

* * *

The sight that met him when he came back was just plain heartwarming.

Alan was sitting on John's lap, pretty much asleep now, while John read a book to him.

He couldn't stop himself from taking his phone out and taking a photo, it was just too cute!

"S-Scott, welcome b-back" Brains said coming up to him.

"Hi Brains" he smiled in greeting "what that you got there?"

Brains was holding some kind of wristband or something.

"This? Oh, John asked if t-there was there was a-anything I could do to he-help Alan, so I made this" Brains said, handing him the wristband.

He felt it as Brains talked, it felt strong…It had a sleek design, it sort of looked like a fit bit, but more sturdy and not as bulky.

"it's a Montier, it will keep a tr-track of Alan's temperature, p-plus it will notify Thunderbird Five and the n-nearest person to Alan if his temperature ever d-drops too low" Brains explained.

Okay, this was good, having a way to keep an eye on alan's temperature was really good.

"This is good brains," he said, smiling.

Brains blushed, "th-thank you, it is also heat resistant and waterproof, so he'll be able to wear it all the time."

That's even better, this is great!

"Brains, have I ever told you that you do amazing work," he grinned.

"I won't call it amazing but-but thank you, I just wish I could help more" brains said, fiddling with his glasses.

"Brains, you have done more than enough," he said, smiling, so grateful.

* * *

**John pov.**

He still couldn't believe this was happening, but it was happening. The child sleeping on his chest was proof of that.

He's not really used to someone being this close, with being on five almost all the time he didn't really see people in person, so having someone, a child sleeping on his chest was new, but it wasn't unwelcomed, it felt sort of nice. The fact that it was Allie, his lost baby brother, his fellow space loving baby brother, finally at last, found and home with them again… Yeah, it was really nice.

He had the idea to read to Alan, to try to distract him from Scott not being there, it worked. Alan was hanging on his every word…well until he was too tired to keep his eyes open, that is.

He looked up when he heard Scott walking down the stair into the sunken lounge.

"Is he asleep?" Scott asked softly, sitting down next to him.

He looked down at Alan, yeah he looked like he was asleep "I think so…"

"What were you reading him?" Scott asked.

"The thirteen storey treehouse," he said, bring up the ebook. "I remembered we use to read this to Gordon and Alan before…you know."

"Yeah, I know" Scott sighed, "if I remember correctly we were actually on the third book, 56 storey tree house was it?"

"65 storey tree house actually" he corrected.

"Whatever one it was, they were definitely…interesting?" Scott said, "they had some weird stuff in them."

"Yeah, they do…not something I would really read," he said, "but the books are made for children."

"Yeah…you remember how Gordon and Alan tried to build a tree house like in the book?" Scott asked grinning.

He chuckled "oh yeah, you nearly had a heart attack when you found out."

"Can you blame me? they asked if they could have a man-eating shark to go in their tree house" Scott said, before sighing "I swear Gordon still wants that shark."

He grinned "that Gordon for you."

"Yeah, you guys like giving me grey hairs," Scott sighed, leaning back on the chair. "I don't think I ever had a full head of hair without a grey hair because of you guys."

he rolled his eyes at Scott, "But you love us anyway, don't you?" he asked smiling.

"Damm right I do," Scott said, smiling. Scott's stomach growled, "I'm starving, we should start on dinner…or have someone already started on it?"

"Virgil put a roast in the oven before he left, I should go check on it actually," he said, about to get up before realising, yes he had a small human sleeping on him "you want to.."

"Yeah, I'll carry him," Scott said, standing up and picking the sleeping child gently up into his arms. Scott would make a really good father, he thought seeing how Scott handled Alan oh so gently.

"Come on, carrot top, if the roast is burnt, I'm blaming it on you" Scott grinned, starting to make his way down to the kitchen.

He rolled his eyes. "I told you not to call me that…" he said following Scott into the kitchen.

"Hmmm what was that? I don't think I heard you" Scott grinned at him.

He rolled his eyes again, shaking his head, smiling fondly.

Scott could be pretty mischievous when he wanted to be, and people wonder where Gordon gets it from.


	11. Chapter 11

**Scott pov. **

**A little while later.**

He was sitting on the couch in the comm room, Alan's head in his lap. he smiled, stroking Alan's hair as Alan slept.

"Your Coffee," John said, handing him a cup of coffee.

"Thank you," he said, taking a sip. Hmmm, he needs that.

"I don't know how you like that stuff," John said, sitting down next to him, a cup of tea in his hands.

"I can say the same thing to you," he said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"We got a rough road ahead of us, don't we?" John asked, looking at Alan.

He paused, looking down at Alan in his lap…..yeah, yeah they did have a rough road ahead of them.

He nodded, "yeah, it not going to be easy"

"Stuff is going to be very different from now on, you do realise that, right?" John asked, taking a sip of his tea.

He nodded again "yeah but it will be a good different, the Tracy brothers are finally five brothers again"

The Tracy brothers are finally five brothers again, oh how he loves those words, he thought with a grin.

"Yeah…" John nodded, smiling. "But that the thing, it's not going to be like how it use to be, he's eight and we're….we're grown up, he's still a child"

he sighed, "I know John" a lot of things had happened in those five years, one of those things was the fact that they weren't kids anymore, no they were full-fledged adults, well almost fully-fledged adults, Gordon had a year or two to go before he was technically an adult.

They will have to take on a sort of parental role with Alan, though He always sorts of been a parental figure in Alan's life anyway, from the day Alan was born, he been a little bit more than a brother.

Alan shifted slightly, muttering in his sleep.

"Things are going to be very different from now on, I know" he sighed again.

His eyes widen as Alan rolled over, falling off the edge of the couch.

"Alan!" he and John yelled.

He was able to grab Alan just before he hit the ground, but there was no way the kid was still asleep now.

Alan's eyes were wide open, the kid shaking slightly. He pulled Alan fully on to his lap

"Sweetie, are you okay?!" he asked, cupping Alan's face in his hands.

Alan's eyes were wide with surprise, which quickly clouded over with tears and suddenly he had sobbing 8-year-old in his arms.

"Oh, Allie….Shhhh, it's okay," he said, hugging his baby brother close. "It's okay, shhh, shhh"

He glanced over at John, John had a worried frown on his face.

"It's okay, you just gave yourself a fright, you're okay," he said, kissing the top of Alan's head.

Alan sniffled, pulling away "s-Scotty?"

"Yeah, it's me" he smiled down at Alan softly. "Me and John"

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, I'm here too Allie," John said, making Alan look at him "you gave yourself a pretty bad fright, didn't you kiddo?"

Alan sniffled, "I guess?"

"Well, that all it was, a little fright, it's all over now," he said, brushing back Alan's hair. "You want to go back to sleep until dinner or do you want to say up with us?"

"I….want to stay…..up with you," Alan said, snuggling into his chest.

He smiled, "okay kiddo, what do you want to do-"

he suddenly remembered the wrist band monitor in his pocket. He hadn't put it on Alan while Alan was sleeping because he didn't know how Alan would react to finding something new on his wrist, plus he didn't want to risk Alan's trust.

"-Actually, first there's something I need to give you," he said, pulling the wrist band out of his pocket. "This is a monitor, it's going to monitor your temperature"

"My…..my temperature?"

he nodded, "You know how you feel sick whenever you get too cold?" he asked, stroking Alan's hair.

Alan nodded.

"Well, This is going to make sure you don't get too cold," he explained.

"Well, it won't stop you from getting cold but it will notify one of us if your temperature drops too low," John clarified.

"O-Okay?"

"You'll need to wear it all the time," John said, as he(Scott) fastens the wrist band on to Alan's wrist. "there's no taking it off"

Alan looked at his wrist, shaking it slightly, not really paying attention to what John was saying.

"Alan," he said, getting Alan's attention. "You do not take this off, you understand me?"

Alan looked up at him, wide-eyed. "i…yes?"

"The only time you take this off-" he taped the wrist band lightly. "-Is if brains needs to work on it and one of us is with you and knows you taken it off, okay?

"b-brains?" Alan asked, confused.

oh yeah, brains haven't moved in until a little while after Alan disappeared.

"he's the inverter of the birds," John explained. "he's the one that made this monitor for you"

"oh…"

"he was around a little bit before you….went missing, you don't remember him?" he asked.

Alan shook his head.

"Okay, well he lives here now, kiddo…. he's a really nice guy," he said, brushing back Alan's hair. "I'm sure you'll like him"

"okay…." Alan mumbled.

he smiled down at Alan, he knew it will take Alan a little while to warm up to Brains but he'll get there. on other thoughts, he still needs to make sure Alan understood not to take the monitor off.

"now I need you to promise me that you won't take this off," he tapped the monitor lightly again. "promise me that the only time you take it off if one of us is with you and we know, okay?" he asked, firmly.

alan blinked up at him, "i… I promise.."

"Good" he smiled, before the urge to hug Alan become too much. "oh come here," he said, pulling Alan into a big hug, kissing the top of Alan's head.

"we love you so much sweetheart," he said softly.

He looked up as he heard the roar of thunderbird two come in for landing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Alan pov.**

He stood slightly behind Scott's leg as they waited in the hanger, the big green ship that he was told was Thunderbird two open its hatch and two people got out.

"Guys!" Scott waved them over. "Over here!"

He stood frozen as they walked over to them, well more like run. A part of him knew that they were Gordon and Virgil, but they looked so…different, even more than Scott or John. It made him feel sort of….not scared but…cautious? He didn't know what was going to happen, and it made him nervous.

"Allie…" Virgil uttered, staring at him, they both were. He moved slightly out from behind Scott's leg, one hand clutching Scott's pants.

"Virgie?" He asked, wide-eyed, looking at them. "Gordy?"

"Hey Allie, yeah it's us," Virgil Said softly as he kneeled down to his level. "Oh, we missed you, Allie, so much."

He blinked, tears gathering in his eyes. This was Virgil, his big brother, no doubt about it. No one has that soft, gentle deep voice expect Virgil, no one.

"Virgie!" He cried, launching himself at Virgil.

Virgil smiled, arms wrapping around him. "It's good to see you too, pup."

Pup….he haven't heard that in years, Virgil would always call him that because he acted like a little puppy, Virgil would always say.

"I missed you," he said, nudging his head against Virgil's shoulder.

his head was starting to feel fuzzy, He didn't know if it was just everything that happened today catching up with him or if it was because the hanger was sort of cold, but that monitor thing hasn't gone off so it must be fine.

"I know….I missed you too" Virgil Said softly. "I also know someone else that missed you, why don't you say hello.."

Virgil pulled away slightly, gesturing with his head over at Gordon, who froze the second their eyes met.

Gordon looks the most different out of all his brothers, having been the one that had grown the most in five years.

Gordon took a deep breath, kneeling down in front of him like Virgil.

"Hey….Hey Al, long time no see, right?" Gordon grinned, but it seemed wobbly.

He looked at Gordon, trying to spot similarities to the ten-year-old Gordon he remembers, while trying to ignore to growing ache in his head. It was nothing, he didn't want to worry his brothers over nothing, pain was normal, at least it was for him.

"Gordy?" He asked, touching Gordon's cheek, Gordon looked so different, but he could also spot some stuff that was familiar to him too, Gordon's brown eyes were the same, same with some other small little things. But the thing that was just so bizarre to him was that Gordon was so much bigger than him now.

"You're so big?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.

Scott, John and Virgil laughed, each had an amused look on their faces, like he said something funny.

He looked at them confused, not understanding, what was funny?

Even Gordon seemed sort of amused.

"I'll … I'll take that as a compliment, I guess-"

"John, Alan's temperature is starting to drop too low," a disembodied said, cutting Gordon off.

He jumped, startled. Where did that voice come from!?

"What?!" his brothers yelled before he suddenly found himself being picked up by Scott.

Scott was looking at him in concern, laying the back of his hand against his cheek, frowning. "Yeah he is sort of cold" Scott muttered to himself. "I should have known it would be too cold down here."

He looked at Scott wide-eyed, not understanding what was going on.He got something about temperature, but his head was really hurting now, making it hard to understand what was going on.

"Scotty Wha-"

"The med bay, there are warm blankets in there," Virgil Said to Scott, unintentionally cutting him off. "We'll unpack, you just get him warm."

Scott nodded as he started walking away from the others and out of the hanger.

What no! He didn't want to leave the others!

"No! Scotty-"

"Shhh, it's okay kiddo," Scott said softly, kissing his temple. "I'm just going to get you warmed up."

"But the others-"

"They'll be along in a little bit, right now I need to get you warmed up, okay kiddo?" Scott said as he continued to walk.

"I….okay," he said, wrapping his arms around Scott's neck. Getting warmed up sounded like a good idea, sleeping also seemed like a good idea, his head was really hurting now, making him slightly teary eyed.

"Why didn't you tell us you were cold, sweetie?" Scott asked as he pushed open a door, walking into a sterile-looking room.

It looked…he didn't like it, too similar to the scientists' labs, he thought, tightening his hold on Scott's neck.

"Alan, why didn't you tell us?" Scott asked again, looking down at him.

"I….it Wasn't that…bad," he said, nibbling his thumb subconsciously "Just… felt fuzzy."

He wasn't going to mention the fact that his head was also hurting. He was already worrying his brothers enough, they didn't need to worry over him, he wasn't worth worrying over.

Scott sighed, "Allie, it doesn't matter if you think it's not too bad, you tell us."

He bit his lip, feeling bad for worrying Scott,(plus not telling him the whole truth) he has only been here less than a day, and he was already causing trouble for his brothers, why was he like this? Why did he even survive in the first plac-

"You know why you tell us?" Scott asked, cutting off his dark thoughts, opening a compartment, a bunch of warm air came out from it the second Scott opened it.

The warm air felt nice, he thought, closing his eyes in contentment.

"Because not too bad can change to really bad very fast Alan," Scott Said firmly as he pulled a blanket out, closing the compartment door. "And we don't want that."

He frowned, feeling the heat disappear, why did it have to go?

Scott sat down on one of the beds, wrapping the warm blanket around him. Okay, this felt way better than the hot air, so much better, plus he had a big brother to snuggle in to….it was beyond better.

"Is that better?" Scott asked, making sure the blanket was tucked securely around him.

He nodded, snuggling into Scott's chest.

"That's good," Scott said, kissing the top of his head. "Now Allie, you said you were feeling fuzzy, is that all?"

He felt his stomach churn, feeling guilty…. his headache making itself known again, making his eyes water. He should tell Scott, but he didn't want to worry him, Scott didn't need to worry about him.

"Allie, what ain't you telling me?" Scott asked softly "come on, what's wrong?"

"My…my head hurts" he mumbled softly.

"It does?" Scott asked to which he nodded. "Okay, I'm going to get something for your head, okay?" Scott said, moving him off his lap and standing up.

His eyes widen, where was Scott going?!

"Scotty-"

"Shhhh, I'm not leaving this room," Scott said, kissing his forehead. "I'm just getting you something to take away the pain, okay?"

"I…okay" he nodded meekly.

"can you take tablets kiddo?" Scott asked him, opening a cupboard.

"I…i don't know," he said, nibbling his thumb subconsciously again.

"Okay, liquid it is," Scott said, pulling a bottle out of the cupboard and measuring out some into a small cup.

"Here you go kiddo, best you drink it in one go," Scott said, handing him the cup before sitting down next to him on the bed, wrapping his arm around him.

He gulped the liquid medicine in one go like Scott said and gagged right after, it tasted horrible!

"I know, I know, it tastes terrible, doesn't it?" Scott cooed, kissing the top of his head.

"Yeah" he mumbled, snuggling into Scott's size. The taste was horrible.

"But it will make your head stop hurting, so in the long run, it's not that bad," Scott said.

He didn't think so, he thought screwing up his nose in disgust. It was yucky.

Scott sighed, "does your head always start hurting when you get too cold, Alan?"

"I…i guess…everything starts hurting when I get cold" he mumbled, "I don't like it, makes me feel sick…"

"I know, sweetie, I don't like it either," Scott said, stroking the back of his head. "I really don't."

"I'm tired…"

"I know, sweetheart, I know" Scott sighed. "we'll have some dinner and then it's bedtime for you, okay?"

"Okay…" he yawned.

"It been a big couple of days for you, hasn't it baby?" Scott said softly, hugging him tightly.

He nodded, "yeah…"

"Tomorrow will not be as full-on, I promise," Scott said softly.


	13. Chapter 13

**Scott pov.**

He held Alan's hand as they walked down to the kitchen, Alan had warmed up enough that he thought it was safe to leave the med bay.

Gordon looked up as they entered the kitchen.

"Allie!" Gordon grinned.

He let go of Alan's hand just as Gordon swept Alan up in a hug, "didn't get the chance to give you a hug back in the hanger" Gordon whispered to Alan.

Alan tensed up for a second, startled before hesitantly hugging Gordon back. "i… I missed you.."

"Missed you too Allie" Gordon whispered back.

He smiled, watching his two youngest brothers. Virgil walked up to his side, smiling at Gordon and Alan too.

Virgil looked at him, giving him a once over. "hey…how you're holding up?"

Of course, Virgil would notice that he was feeling…a little bit drained. Today just been a really full on day.

"I'm okay, you?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"getting there, it been an event full day, still processing it really," Virgil said back, "a bit unbelievable really."

he nodded in agreement.

"oh yeah, the epi-pen is in the fruit bowl, just so you know," Virgil said, "hopefully we don't need it, I don't think there is anything in the roast that Alan may react to but better safe than sorry, you know."

"yeah, better safe than sorry indeed" he sighed.

Gordon and Alan pulled out of their hug, Alan looked up at Virgil, who smiled.

"you're hungry, Allie?" Virgil asked, using a tone he has seen Virgil use before on rescues when dealing with frightened young children "I made a really yummy roast, I'm sure you going to like it."

"h-hungry?" Alan asked,

"yeah, you know when your stomach RRAHHH!" Gordon grinned, poking alan's stomach jokingly.

Alan squealed, jumping back like Gordon had hit him, not poked him playfully.

"Gordon!" he said as he found himself suddenly being clung to by a frightened baby brother. "shhh baby, it's okay….it's okay," he said softly, stroking Alan's hair.

Gordon bit his lip, "sorry Allie, I didn't mean to scare you"

"Gordon was only messing around, he does that," Virgil said, bending down slightly. "come on, why don't we all go get some dinner?" Virgil said, holding out his hand for Alan to take.

Alan pulled away from him slightly, taking Virgil's hand, who lead him over to the table and help him up on to a chair.

"Gordon, you got to be more careful with alan," he said, as they followed Virgil and alan, just at a slower pace.

"I know," Gordon said, crossing his arms "I'm sorry, I'll….I'll try harder, it won't happen again."

he frowned, something was going on with Gordon, he could tell. "are you oka-"

"I'm fine! why wouldn't I be?" Gordon grinned, "well um i… I should probably go…go help John with the…the plates! you know, don't want any broken plates or anything!"

He frowned again, watching as Gordon ran over to john. He was not convinced, but it wasn't like he was going to get anything out of Gordon now, he thought with a sigh.

Alan looked at him as he sat down in the chair next to him. "hey sweetie, you're okay?"

"tired," Alan said, rubbing his eye with his fist. "everything is…"

"crazy? don't worry you'll get used to it" he said with a small smile, heaven knows their family was crazy at times.

Alan yawned.

"wow, that's a big yawn Allie," Virgil said as he put the roast down on the table. "you're tired?"

Alan nodded, yawning again. Oh, sweetie…

"Hey Allie, you're feeling better now?" John asked as he put the plates and cutlery down on the table.

"I…i guess?" Alan mumbled.

"Okay, I got the veggies" Gordon grinned, putting a plate of roast veggies on the table. "can we eat now?"

he shook his head, sighing.

"patience Gordon," John said, sitting down on the other side of Alan "I know Kayo not going to be back until later but is brains coming up for dinner?"

"no, said he'll have something later," Virgil said, caving the roast, "and believe me, I tried to get him to come up, but that man is glued to his lab like-Allie?"

Alan had gone pale white the second Virgil said 'lab' his eyes clouding over, starting to tremble.

"Allie?"


	14. Chapter 14

"Allie?"

Alan had gone deathly pale and was beginning to shake, his eyes wide with fear. Horror and worry overwhelmed him as he realised what was going on. Trigger words. Virgil must have said a trigger word.

"Allie, are you okay?" John asked, touching Alan's arm. Alan visibly jumped, flinching away with a cry, tears starting to spill down his cheeks. Hurt flashed across John's face briefly.

"Allie, baby, look at me" He took Alan's hand in his own, it was warm and getting warmer. Alan's tear-filled, panicky eyes met his, "it's okay, You're safe, it's okay…" He rubbed circle into Alan's hand, trying to comfort his baby brother.

He watched in dismay as Alan's eyes filled with even more tears, which came pouring out like water from a bursting dam. "Lab….h-hurts…no..no l-lab!" Alan sobbed, shaking his head, tears going everywhere "pl-please! N-n-n-n-"

He couldn't take it anymore! "Oh, baby..come here" He pulled Alan onto his lap, who instantly wrapped his arms around his neck. "Shhh, you're okay, no one is going to hurt you.." He rubbed Alan's back gently, He could feel the heat of Alan's skin through Alan's clothes. "It's okay, shhh, it's okay."

Alan just sobbed into his neck. His brothers were watching in concern, each of them worried beyond belief.

"Scott?" Virgil asked, his eyes silently asking 'What's going on? Do you know why Alan is crying?'

He stroked the back of Alan's head, silently mouthing to his brothers over Alan's head 'Trigger words..' All three of his brothers' eyes widen in realisation, Virgil's eyes flooded with guilt.

Oh, Virgil, don't blame yourself, you didn't know…

Alan sobbed loudly, drawing his attention back to his baby brother in his lap. Alan was shaking like a leaf, sobs erupting from him. "Allie, it's okay.." He rubbed Alan's back, rocking slightly in his seat, trying to comfort Alan. "Shhh, I got you… I got you.."

Alan just continued to cry into his neck, his tears making a wet patch on his shirt. Alan's tears were hot, like 'hot water' hot. Alan sobbed loudly again.

He sighed, realising it may take a while for Alan to calm down, and the others should start eating before the food gets cold… "Guys, you should probably start eating…" He said softly, continuing to rub Alan's back.

"Allie just needs a moment, don't you baby?" He kissed Alan's temple, his lips stinging a bit from the heat but he didn't care, all he cared about right now was comforting his baby brother.

His brothers shared a look before nodding. "Sure, Scott" John sighed, reaching for the veggies, while Virgil went back to carving the roast. Gordon poured himself a drink.

Which left him to focus on calming Alan down, He thought looking down at the little kid in his lap, who was still crying himself up a storm. "Shhh baby, it's okay.." He whispered softly, stroking Alan's hair gently. "I got you.."

A couple of minutes later, Alan was starting to calm down, his sobs changing into silence tears with the occasional sob and sniffle thrown in. Alan's temperature had gone down a bit. Which was good because if Alan's skin had gotten any hotter, he would have been burned for sure and that was a problem.

He needs to be able to comfort his baby brother, but he couldn't do that to his best ability if he couldn't hold or even touch Alan. He'll need to talk to brains about it, see if there is anything he could do…

Alan whimpered, "shhh, it's okay baby.." He rubbed Alan's back. "it's alright.."

Alan looked up at him, his nose running and his eyes bloodshot and watery, tears still slipping down his cheeks. "Oh, baby…" He sighed, gently wiping away some of the tears with his thumb. "It's okay, it's okay.." Alan's face was a mess…

"Scott, here.." Virgil handed him a couple of napkins, reading his mind like always. He smiled, nodding his thanks.

Alan sniffled, lip trembling a bit "shhhh, it's okay," He whispered as he wiped Alan's cheeks gently with one of the napkins before grabbing another and holding it over Alan's nose. "Blow.."

Alan did as he was told and blew into the napkin, "good boy.." He stroked Alan's hair with one hand, the other scrunching the napkin up and putting it on the table to be thrown out later.

"What you say to eating something, kiddo?" He gently suggested, rubbing Alan's back. "You think you're up to it?"

Alan looked over at the others, looking hesitant. Virgil smiled at Alan, "come on Allie, it's really good"

Alan sniffled, "i-it…it is?"

Gordon nodded, smiling wide "yeah Allie, it's really good.."

John pats Alan's vacated seat. "Why don't you come sit next to me, Kiddo?"

Alan bit his lip, looking up at him "Go on Kiddo, go sit next to John" He encourages gently, lightly kisses the top of Alan's head. "I'll plate up some food for you, okay?"

"I..o-okay" Alan nodded meekly, crawling off his lap and into his own chair. He kept a hand and an eye on Alan as he was doing this, making sure he didn't fall.

Alan still looked pretty upset, but at least he wasn't crying any more. It hurt him so much to see Alan like this, to know that at the end of the day there wasn't anything he could do, except hold Alan tightly and make sure that he knows how much he is loved, oh, he loves that kid so much, he thought as he started to plate up Alan's plate.

He'll do everything in his power to keep Alan safe this time and he will be damm if Alan doesn't know how much he is loved because he is not wasting this chance that they been given.

He is not wasting it!


End file.
